This is that kind of a collection of poetry which will leave the readers either too underwhelmed or too overwhelmed. From what I have heard from people, this collection either became one of their absolute favourites or they were just gravely disappointed.

It is Divided into 4 parts, namely: the hurting, the loving, the breaking and the healing.

Trigger warning: rape and sexual abuse.

There is not much that I can really say to give an idea about this book so I am just going to talk about how I felt about it.

I bought this book after hearing rave reviews about it in all the bookish communities everywhere. The day it was delivered I went to a café near my college and finished it in one sitting, no kidding, it does not take long. The writing is nothing fancy though, so if you are looking for a literary masterpiece that you can break down and analyze, I do not think this book is it. But I think the simplicity of it is what makes it so special amongst many other things. This collection of modern poetry that doesn’t take a lot from you while reading, you don’t have to mentally prepare yourself to read some heavy poetry kind of thing, it is easy to absorb. There no going out of your way to understand and relate to it, it just happens effortlessly.

And it is not like I rushed through, I took my time absorbing every word, every line and allowing myself to feel whatever it was making me feel. There were parts of it that I felt connected to so much that I just had to close the book for a few sections and take in the reality of it. There were times when I had tears in my eyes, times when I actually felt lonely while reading, maybe it was like the reading was getting me to feel more than I signed up for.

Towards the end of reading this, I felt like I personally knew the poetess. Rupi just put everything possible out there and it was so beautifully done! Needless to say, it obviously became one of my favourites.

The only reason I bought and dived right into this one was because of how much I enjoyed reading the sun is also a star.

Synopsis:

Eighteen year old Madeline Whittier has lived indoors for as long as she can remember. She has this rare kind of a disease which makes her allergic to literally everything which is why she cannot step into the outside world. So her constant companions are her mother and her nurse Carla, also her books. Her routines entail online classes, assignments, reading (a lot), playing games with her mother and just the kind of things that wouldn’t harm her health and wouldn’t require her to go outdoors. She has made her peace with her situation and goes on with her routine until one day new neighbour moves in next door and there obviously has to be a really cute guy her age as one of them. This new family is unlike Madeline’s, Olly the cute guy next door is the one who captures her attention and she obviously captures his. After stealing glances at each other enough for a few days they finally start to have a conversation.

And well, the rest is a book on it.

My review:

The concept of this book really sounded cool to me, it was unlike anything I had heard of before which was the second reason I picked it up. Madeline and Olly’s situations throughout the book really made me want to root for them, like I was just wanting for them to be together already! It was really nice to go with the flow of the story and see how it was unfolding. So it is safe to say that the book started off really well for me, more than halfway through it I was really enjoying it. The writing style was simple with a few illustrations here and there, it is fun to read these kinds of books. Sort of like breaking the monotony and getting a personalized view of the character.

The plot seemed to be going really well for a while with Maddy and Olly’s interactions and everything. I almost would’ve loved this book if it wasn’t for the ending. That is the only reason it did not live up to my expectations. That was just SOME ending! I did not see that coming!

I bought myself the sun is also a star which is a YA contemporary as a valentine’s day present, because why not? And what a treat it was! I finished that book in two days (actually the same day but past 12 technically) as I did not have any lectures that time. I have had the review written in my journal for months now and I am finally putting it up

The sun is also a star is the first book that I read by the author Nicola Yoon. Needless to say, I picked up Everything Everything almost immediately after finishing this one. This is her second book and I honestly liked this one much better than everything everything, which is her first.

Synopsis:

You know the whole theory that is out there about how opposites attract? Well, here is another take at the same thing by Nicola Yoon navigating it with Natasha and Daniel, the leads of the story. Natasha is a Jamaican native living in America which she considers to be her home as she has lived there all her life and Daniel is a Korean American who likes to write poetry. While Natasha is a realist, Daniel is a dreamer. She is about to be deported and in the midst of all the hopelessness that she is experiencing, she meets Daniel. There are these two different worlds of thoughts that collide and take you on a journey where somewhere along their individual struggles of their day they show each other a few different ways to look at the world and/or it was maybe the universe showing them that.

My review:

The sun is also a star is that perfect kind of a cute read which is so heart wrenching at the same time. There were those perfect ‘aww’ moments and those moments where you know your heart is on the verge of breaking and those moments when a scene is just so well written and well described that you feel so content. This book was so fast paced, once I started reading it, I just went on and it was so hard to put it down. And I feel a major reason for that was the writing style. The chapters weren’t too long and each one gave a new perspective from different characters which was refreshing and didn’t feel stretched. More like showing a different angle of the story.

I absolutely loved this book, there was so much that it entailed, from an issue like deportation to having such diverse leads in the story. Honestly, I get that a lot of people will not find this book very realistic because of too many coincidences but it feels like that really depends on how you see it, to what extent you believe in fate or if you believe in it at all. So the ‘realistic’ aspect of this book depends on how you see it. Yes, I might just be a little too much like Daniel. On the other hand, the whole love at first sight and Natasha’s scientific aspect of things was beautifully showcased, like there were times when even I found myself almost being convinced with Natasha’s point of view even though I am a dreamer through and through. Another thing I loved is how the other characters, even though they hadn’t been around much, play a significant role and how it all connects and plays out in the end.

I always have a small set of classics beside my bed. These are the ones which have been here for quite a while now because I haven’t picked up any of them to read yet. This tiny space between my dresser and my bed is where I keep my classics TBR.

One thing I really wish to do is start reading a lot of classics, I mean I never read them one after the other, it has always been one classic every 2 months or something like that. So many times I’ve started one but never ended up finishing it.

Classics fascinate me and yet I wonder why can’t I bring myself to actually dive right into them. To me, There’s just something about reading a book which was written at a time when the lifestyle was so different than what it is now. It is an insight to into that time through the the words of that author and that is unlike any experience which can’t be compared to history lessons or shows. I know it requires patience because classics is that one genre that fascinates yet intimidates me. But that does not stop me from picking them up every now and then.

Plus there’s nothing like falling asleep beside the comfort and coziness of a couple books and vanilla scented candle.

June was that only month of the year where i managed to read just one book. That’s right, only one! But that is also because i didn’t particularly feel like doing anything because lets just say, it wasn’t the best month for me. So the only book that could get me out of that state of mine was “Norwegian wood” by Haruki Murakami.

This month, however, i look forward to get some decent amount of reading done even with all the work i have going on. I picked up these books randomly as they have been sitting on my shelf for quite a while now. So here goes,

All the light we cannot see by Anthony Doerr which i picked up because of booktube.

Four seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr which i got just because.

All the bright places by Jennifer Niven because i want to read a YA contemporary this month.

Atonement by Ian McEwan because it is about time that i read it.

On the road by Jack Kerouac. I bought this last year at the Jaipur Literature festival.

Into the wild by Jon Krakauer, after several attempts of starting this book and never finishing it, this month i want to.